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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. swing — in golf
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. drill — army training
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. bass — low music
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. swing — to play on
  10. file — a document
  11. drill — a practice
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a line of people
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. drill — the tool
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. lash — a whip stroke

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com